In 2016, there were a reported 158 thefts from vehicles across the downtown core, 32 of which occurred in parkades. In 2017, that number jumped to 441, with 241 of them occurring in parkades, marking a 25 per cent increase across Victoria and Esquimalt.

There are new details emerging about the deadly incident near Hillside Mall last weekend.

Police are still tight-lipped about the case, but a concerned citizen has come forward saying she knows who did it and she claims he was attacked first and it was self-defence.

"He didn't want to kill anybody, I know that," says Shannon, whose last name isn't being used as no charges have been laid. "He is devoted to his child."

But she says Danny turned himself into police right away and was held in custody on a breach of probation.

...

Despite fears for her own safety, Shannon is speaking out because she's heard a bounty has been put on Danny's head and she's worried about a revenge killing.

"They're telling everybody $10,000 is being offered for whoever can kill Danny or his brother," Shannon says. "Everybody is a victim here — everybody loses and Joe would be alive and Danny would be free if they hadn't chose to react with violence."

The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit is investigating the killing and so far, police say no arrests have been made.

Police wouldn't confirm whether Danny is a suspect or person of interest. All RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Tammy Douglas would say is that they are "confident there is no threat to the public."

In 2016, there were a reported 158 thefts from vehicles across the downtown core...

Am I reading that right? 158 in a year? Fewer than one report every other day? Come on, that number can't be taken seriously. An unlucky individual has probably had his or her car broken into enough times in a bad year to account for a fair percentage of that.

Consider all of the vehicles that are parked downtown in a year. And then consider 158 reported thefts from vehicles. If there truly were just 158 reports then what can a reasonable person possibly conclude? Thefts from vehicles are generally not reported. I'm not saying the streets are full of crime, I'm not saying police are misrepresenting the stats, I'm just saying that number can't possibly be very informative re: the actual amount of theft from vehicles. We can all attest from direct personal experience that theft from vehicles isn't some exceptionally rare thing. It was never some exceptionally rare thing.

...32 of which occurred in parkades.

In city-operated parkades only or in any type of parkade? If we're talking about city-operated parkades only then we're talking ~6 reports per parkade per year? A report every two months per parkade? It makes me laugh just pondering it. If we're talking about all downtown parkades (and the article mentions patrols of public and private parkades) then that would work out to what... maybe half a report per parkade per year, depending on how narrow our definition of "downtown" is?

A man’s death has been declared a homicide after he was found on Hillside Avenue on Saturday.

The 35-year-old man was found dead after Victoria police were called to the 1400-block of Hillside Avenue for a disturbance early in the morning on March 10. The case is being called a homicide and the investigation is ongoing, according to a Friday news release from the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU).

Anyone with information on the death is asked to call the VIIMCU Information Line at 250-380-6211 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Police have not released the identity of the man but family and friends have identified him as Joe Gauthier, a father of four.